Mattei donates compressor to instrument manufacturer

21 April, 2011

Rotary vane compressor manufacturer Mattei has offered a helping hand to a worthwhile cause with the donation of one of its 100 series workshop compressors. The company was approached by 26-year-old Lewis Alexander, a blind musical instrument maker who had to sell all of his workshop equipment to pay for specially adapted computer equipment to help him in his day-to-day life.

Lewis is skilled in manufacturing a variety of instruments; including whistles and flutes, as well as teaching his craft to other blind and visually impaired people. For the past two years Lewis has been slowly restoring his workshop, mainly through donations from a number of manufacturers. His need for compressed air is to cool the cutters on the gun drills and reamers that are used in the production process. However, he identified that a quieter compressor would be of great benefit, as his previous machine was loud and caused the fluorescent lamps in his workshop to pulse. This in turn affects his visually impaired students who rely on a consistent light supply to focus on their work. In addition, using a quieter compressor has less impact on Lewis’ hearing after using the machine all day in the confined area of his workshop.

Reduced sound level

Lewis researched compressor manufacturers and identified that rotary vane technology offers a reduced sound level when compared to the piston compressor he was previously using. This is because rotary vane machines do not need to run at such high speeds to deliver the air supply.

Andy Jones, general manager at Mattei, said: “We were more than happy to support Lewis in his venture and supply a compressor from our100 series range. It is great to see Lewis using his knowledge and expertise to help others with visual impairments, as well as keeping the skills of instrument making alive.”